searching for the neighbor who won hundreds of millions of dollars. who is it claiming victory tonight? >> it could be anybody. breaking polygamy. a year-long abc news investigation puts a secret world in the spotlight. and tonight, we have news about the man controlling thousands of people from his prison cell. and, behind the photo. why people around the globe are talking about the police officer and the man with no shoes. good evening. we begin with the summit between two fierce rivals. president obama, opening the white house doors today, to the man who had once hoped to move in there as president himself. take a look. there they were, standing in the oval office, the president and governor mitt romney. they would spend more than an hour at a private lunch and everyone was wondering if somehow, they would agree to work together on america's

fiscal crisis. our jonathan karl has been on the phone today to find out what happened. >> reporter: it wasn't the way mitt romney wanted to arrive at the white house. over the gaze of the oval office portrait of abraham lincoln, known for his team of rivals, romney and obama met alone for an hour. by all accounts, much more cordial than their last encounter. >> no, i had a question, and the question was -- >> you want me to answer a question. >> reporter: on the menu, white turkey chili and southwestern grilled chicken salad. and some fence mending. but down the street, on capitol hill, was where the real fireworks were. partisan sniping and a clear sign that talks on averting the so-called fiscal cliff and preventing a big tax hike for everybody are going backwards fast. just listen to the democratic senate leader talking about the speaker of the house today. >> i don't understand his brain, so, you should ask him. >> reporter: president obama and speaker boehner spoke by phone last night in a call sources tell abc news was blunt and unproductive.

both men refusing to give ground on the issue of tax rates for the wealthy. obama insisting they go up, boehner insisting they don't. >> listen, this is not a game. jobs are on the line. the american economy is on the line. this is a moment for adult leadership. >> reporter: and taxes aren't the only sticking point. republicans are demanding the president come forward with a plan to limit spending on medicare and social security, something many democrats say is just not acceptable. >> i didn't have my own card with me. jill wouldn't let me have one. >> reporter: vice president biden got into the act today, too, taking a break from christmas shopping and snacking at costco to urge congress to extend middle class tax cuts. >> i think it's important congress acts now. i mean, right now. >> reporter: can mitt romney, with all his business experience, play a role on brokering a deal? well, don't count on it, diane. the president did not ask for his help today and the two simply agreed to keep in touch.

and for now, nothing more. >> all right, thank you, jonathan karl. and now, we move onto two towns that had reason to rejoice today. two tickets won that half a billion dollar lottery. one ticket sold in arizona, another in a tiny town in missouri, where, tonight, winners have come forward, but will not be announced until tomorrow. in the meantime, the 496 neighbors of that town are eyeing each other and asking, "is it you?" we have two reports tonight, starting with abc's alex perez from the tiny, lucky town of dearborn, missouri. alex? >> reporter: well, diane, this is a teeny tiny town. in fact, this is the only cafe in the small downtown area here, and all day, there's been just one question that everyone is asking. who won the jackpot? welcome to dearborn, missouri, a small farming community, population, just 496. and possibly home to one of america's newest multimillionaires. >> we want to know who won. that's about it. >> reporter: at cook's corner cafe, a place where everybody

knows your name, everyone seems to be staring at each other a little closer today. >> this is the biggest thing that's ever happened in dearborn. >> reporter: in a town this small, word travels quickly. one man even claiming on his facebook that he's the winner, but until an official announcement is made, the mystery is growing. >> could be anybody, so, we're just waiting to find out. it's so exciting. >> reporter: the winning powerball ticket sold here at trex mart, the only gas station in town. >> it would be neat if it's somebody here in town that we know. >> reporter: there are already dreams of that very lucky person helping to make dearborn better. >> i hope it's somebody local that will do something good in this town. >> reporter: the possibility of one neighbor's extremely good fortune, enough to raise good spirits here and fill them with hope. alex perez, abc news, dearborn, missouri. >> reporter: i'm david wright at the 4 sons market in fountain hills, arizona. an ordinary gas and go market, today, the focus of a national obsession. >> i've never seen anything like

this in my entire life. so, hat's off to the winner. >> this is crazy. hat's off is right. i'm jealous. >> reporter: the arizona winner bought the ticket yesterday, but lottery officials won't pinpoint the time just yet. otherwise, we might be able to spot them on the store's time-stamped surveillance tapes. i wonder if you'll recognize the winner. >> i'm hoping i do because a lot of people tell us that if we sell them the winner, they're going to, you know, send some money our way. well -- it's time to step up. >> reporter: there are plenty of consolation prizes, including 66 new millionaires today. folks who got five out of six numbers. among them, 34-year-old larry chandler. >> i kept looking at the ticket, looking at the newspaper, looking at the ticket, looking at the newspaper. pretty cool, man. >> reporter: tonight, he's taking his girlfriend to celebrate at red lobster. today's winners have 180 days to claim their prizes or lose them. nationwide, about $800 million went unclaimed last year.

that money goes to education or other programs at the discretion of the state. you know, some states allow winners to remain anonymous. not arizona. here, you're not required to accept your winnings in the form of a five-foot check, but your name and your hometown are made public and as soon as that happens, diane, these winners will find that they have a lot of new friends. >> i'm sure you're right. thanks so much, david. and now, we move onto a health alert about a popular drug and particles of glass found in the pills. 4 million americans rely on this generic version of the drug lipitor to control their cholesterol. and tonight, the manufacturer of that drug has stopped production. abc's david kerley tells us more. >> reporter: the company that produces more than 1 in 3 generic lipitor pills taken in this country has shut down all production. the problem? ranbaxy can't figure out how small glass particles, the size of a grain of sand, have gotten

into its generic pills. the contamination has not led to any patient problems. but consumers are being told to return the ranbaxy pills and get another brand. generics are popular because of their price. name brand lipitor costs $4.72 a pill. the ranbaxy pill, just $3.85. but this is just the latest manufacturing problem for ranbaxy. earlier this year, the u.s. government forbid the company from importing 30 drugs from some of its facilities in india, because of bad record-keeping. ranbaxy won't say where these pills are made. the fda says it can't comment on whether ranbaxy violated the rules. >> the company has real difficulties with quality control, not just in one of a or a couple of its facility, but in many facilities. >> reporter: even though this is the largest maker of generic lipitor, there are enough other manufacturers to make up for any shortages. david kerley, abc news, washington. and now, we want to show a picture at the heart of a new and growing controversy in american schools.

this is a padded room, a photo spreading from washington state to parents around the country. they are called isolation rooms and they're used to restrain some children, including autistic ones. abc's chief investigative correspondent brian ross brings us videotape, and we warn you, it's not always easy to watch. >> reporter: this surveillance video shows high school student andre mccollins, in the lower right of the screen, about to go through what his school calls skin shock therapy for misbehavior. about 60 volts of therapy. there are no national standards for the punishments or restraints used on school children, including those like andre with behavior disabilities. later tied spread eagle to a restraint board. >> no, no, no. >> reporter: and what happened at this school outside boston, an extreme example, but entirely legal. >> some day, we're all -- i think we're all going to look back, and we're going to say, "can you believe what we did here?" >> reporter: an abc news

investigation has found that only 17 states have specific laws protecting students from harsh treatments and restraints. >> there's thousands and thousands of children that have been traumatized, they have been injured. >> reporter: in arizona and washington state, parents are up in arms over padded isolation boxes or cells, where students have been left for long stretches. in kentucky, a mother found her autistic 8-year-old son had been stuffed into a duffel bag like this one, specially made to restrain children. >> they held me, like -- >> reporter: in pennsylvania, a group of students with behavioral issues described to abc news how they had been tied up or manhandled at previous schools. did it hurt? >> yeah, it really did hurt. >> reporter: 11-year-old jordan described being locked up in one of those isolation boxes. >> it's scary. really scary. even for the bravest person in the world, it's still really scary. >> reporter: and even worse, there have been dozens of deaths of students being restrained by teachers or staff, often untrained or unaware of safe procedures.

and tonight on "nightline," diane, we'll show the dramatic video of one of those tragic deaths taking place. >> we will be watching. thank you, brian. and now, we turn overseas to syria, the nation ravaged by fierce rebellion against the dictator, because tonight, the internet in syria has gone dark. one network service provider says syria completely vanished off the internet radar today. you can see the drastic drop, just before 12:30 p.m. in damascus. and rebel forces say the syrian government is behind the blackout and they fear it could mean a new round of fierce attacks are coming. cell phone service has also been interrupted. and a big celebration among palestinians today. a little girl with the flag painted on her face. cheering in gaza and the west bank. they are celebrating the vote at the united nations, including palestine as an observer state. palestine will not be a full voting member of the u.n., but could be allowed to join some u.n. groups and the international criminal court.

the united states and israel had strongly opposed the move, saying it could complicate peace efforts. but the vote passed by a wide margin. and, still ahead here on "world news," our year-long investigation, the leader of a polygamist sect behind bars. so, how is he still controlling thousands of followers? we use this board to compare car insurance rates side by side so you get the same coverage, often for less. that's one smart board. what else does it do, reverse gravity? [ laughs ] [ laughs ] [ whooshing ] strongly opposed the move, tell me about it. why am i not going anywhere? you don't believe hard enough. a smarter way to shop around. now that's progressive. call or click today. [ grunting ]

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tonight, a well-known polygamist sect is back in the news. authorities in texas are fighting to seize a compound in texas belonging to the group led by warren jeffs. you may remember jeffs was suspected of taking dozens of underaged brides, but he was convicted last year of sexually assaulting two young women. and another of the towns where jeffs' followers live is in the spotlight, as well, and this one is on the border between utah and arizona. abc news spent a year investigating the education of children there and the control jeffs still exerts from his prison cell. amy robach made the trip to a secret world. >> reporter: deep in the desert, on the border between utah and arizona, a polygamous sect of 8,000 people are still living a secret live, obeying the commands of their leader, warren jeffs. he was sentenced to life in prison for the sexual assault of

girls as young as 14. >> we miss our prophet. we know he is innocent. >> reporter: a year-long investigation by "20/20" reveals that jeffs, from behind prison bars, still controls every aspect of his followers' lives. >> obey the prophet when he speaks, and you'll be blessed. disobey him -- it is death. >> reporter: in this community, where a man needs three wives to gain salvation, warren jeffs married over 80 women. every week, he issues bizarre orders that seem random to outsiders. >> now it is down that you cannot eat corn. >> no sex between husband and wife. >> at home you couldn't have any toys. you couldn't ride bikes either. >> reporter: this community has often taken young boys out of school to work in construction. willie steed told us he helped build this multimillion dollar house for jeffs, even though his sentence was life. >> they said if we build it then it would melt the bars or whatever in his jail and he would be released. >> reporter: is warren jeffs in charge? we asked people all over town about warren jeffs, but no one would answer our questions.

excuse me? excuse me? hello? but the most destructive form of control is jeffs' banishment of hundreds of people from the town. this midwife has birthed hundreds of babies. she's worked here for almost 40 years. >> on a busy day, i could see as many as 20 to 25 patients. >> reporter: but just a few months ago, she too was banished. willie steed's family was torn apart, too. >> what happens to your loved ones is hell. >> reporter: a kind of underground railroad for those escaping from polygamy is now helping willie's family slowly adjust to modern life. like many young boys here, he could barely read. >> dodge? >> close. >> reporter: as for his sisters, a milestone. they were never allowed to cut their hair before. >> that was quite a time for us. >> reporter: you get emotional, though, when you talk about it. >> we have to move on in life and leave things behind. >> reporter: one family now beyond jeffs' reach.

thousands more still isolated in the desert, obeying his word. >> and amy robach is here now. amy, no one can do anything about this? what about the board of education and the schools? >> reporter: and we spoke with them and they say the flds is protected by a home schooling law that is separate in utah. basically school officials, the board of education, have no rights to go in and make any assessment of what's going on inside these homes. they cannot tell the parents what type of curriculum to use or not to use. they say their hands are tied. >> what about the prison system? and jeffs sending out messages? >> reporter: we contacted the texas department of criminal justice who told us that most defenders like warren jeffs have basic rights. they have rights to send and receive mail. they have rights to use the telephone. they have rights to have visitors on preapproved guest lists. and those rights apply to warren jeffs. >> tell me the name of the group that is helping them get out. >> reporter: holding out help. they are so desperate for money and help because they priovide o

much for these families who have nothing when they leave. not even a driver's license sometimes. >> all right, amy robach. as we said, going into a very secret world. thank you. and, coming up next here, the father and daughter fishing trip that turned into a real life moby dick. >> oh, my god, dad. is he going to hit us? dad? is he going to hit us? oh, my god. two ye the people of bp made a commitment to the gulf. bp has paid over twenty-three billion dollars to help those affected and to cover cleanup costs. today, the beaches and gulf are open, and many areas are reporting their best tourism seasons in years. and bp's also committed to america. we support nearly 250,000 jobs and invest more here than anywhere else. we're working to fuel america for generations to come. our commitment has never been stronger. gives you a low $18.50 monthly plan premium... and select generic hypertension drugs

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our "instant index" tonight. starting with the patriarch of a family we know well. former president george h.w. bush, 88 years old. we learned today he's been in a houston hospital for nearly a week, for bronchitis, a cough he just can't shake. his doctors say it is not life threatening. they hope to release him soon and we wish him well. and, a white-knuckle fishing trip for a father and daughter in australia. it's our video in the news. watch. a young girl yelling for her dad as two massive humpback whales get way too close to their small fishing boat. listen to her. >> oh, my god, daddy. right there. no closer, please. it's going -- oh, my god, daddy, he's under us. >> that video is burning up the internet tonight. but it has a happy ending. the gentle giants dived under the little motor boat, then calmly came up and swam away. and, now, next, the annual

list of the most popular baby names was released today. and here are the top three picks for boys and the top three picks for girls. but as we scanned the whole list, we noticed something unmistakable. the fastest rising names are ana, anastasia and grey. do they ring a bell? they are characters from the racy best-seller "50 shades of grey." so, you make of that what you will. and we do want to hear what captured your imagination. tweet me your thoughts for the "instant index" @dianesawyer. coming up, a random act of kindness inspiring millions tonight. the real story behind the photo rocketing around the world. . money. i was 21, so i said, "hmm, i want to retire at 55." and before you know it, i'm 58 years old. time went by very fast. it goes by too, too fast. ♪ but i would do it again in a heartbeat.

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and finally tonight, the story behind a photograph that made its way around the world today. showing something small, but infinite. the power of one random act of kindness. abc's dan harris on the policeman and the man who had no shoes. >> reporter: a new york city police officer on a frigid november night in times square bending down to give a homeless and shoeless man a pair of brand new boots. this scene would have gone unnoticed, except jennifer foster, a tourist, just happened to be there. >> and i heard him, quite clearly, say, i have these size 12 all weather boots for you. let's take care of you. >> reporter: she snapped this picture and sent it to the nypd. the department posted it to facebook two days ago, and tonight, it has almost 2 million views, 400,000 likes and more than 28,000 comments. it's also been passed around the globe from romania to russia to china. and, today, the officer himself came forward. he is lawrence deprimo, a

polite 25-year-old who still lives with his mom and dad. >> my mom i said, buddy, where's your socks, where's your shoes? he said, i never had socks or shoes, but god bless you. and i knew i had to help him. >> reporter: when you presented him with the boots, what was his reaction? >> he couldn't believe it, he was like, this is too much, god bless you and be safe and everything. it was almost like you gave him a million dollars. >> reporter: the officer doesn't know anything about the man he helped or what's become of him, but he keeps the receipt for the $75 he spent on those boots in his bulletproof vest. a reminder for all of us about the pervasiveness of need and the potential for compassion. dan harris, abc news, new york. >> and that officer must live with two very proud parents. we thank you for watching. we're always here at abcnews.com and "nightline" will be along later. we hope to see you back here to close out the week tomorrow night. good night.

next, get ready for a soaking. live team coverage of the second of three storms. >> also three things oakland is now planning to do to try to make the streets safer. >> plus, the i-team, inside information you've never heard before about the notorious chowchilla kidnapping case. >> resolving a water war in the central valley. a historic step to restoring the san joaquin river. >> it comes through and the floors are covered sometimes a few inches, sometimes a couple feet. >> dan: taking no chances. the owners of a north bay

business break out the plastic and sandbags that is head third way. >> carolyn: we're seeing the effects of three storms slamming the bay area. this is a look from mount tamalpais the wind is blowing here. team coverage and laura anthony is in petaluma for us. >> we're going begin with sandhya patel tracking the storm's path. >> we'll check out live doppler 7-hd. we have our own radar on mounted st. helena and rain in the north bay. it has been steady in the north bay and spreading in other parts of the bay area. where we're seeing the rainfall between windsor and highway 101, river road very light. yountville toward napa. we take you down to street level. redwood road, lighted rainfall and head down towards the east bay. san pablo, oakland area out towa